20% of Zhuhai Property Owners come from Macau

The recent confirmation of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai Macau Bridge’s financing scheme has apparently boosted property markets in the three cities, giving reasons for Macau citizens to purchase properties in Zhuhai. Some Zhuhai property agencies are now setting up showrooms in Macau, indicating their confidence in the city’s market.

Zheng Xubin, Executive Director and General Manager of Zhuhai Huafa Property & Marketing Consultancy Company, which launched a showroom in Macau, said that 8% of the buyers of 1,000 flats released in Huafa New Town in 2004 were Macau citizens. More and more Macau citizens purchased their “second home” in Zhuhai, owing to an increased income and assets value, not to mention the yet-to-be-launched 24-hour border service. Huafa Century City was launched late last year, and the proportion of Macau buyers rose to 20%. There is an apparent trend of Macau people buying properties in Zhuhai.

The confirmation of the Bridge did not seem to give impetus to property prices in Zhuhai. But rather, due to the global economic slowdown, investors remain undecided and the property market is “cooling down”. Transaction volumes dropped slightly this year. However, property prices in Zhuhai are lower than that of major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. As such they have proved resilient to downward pressure, with only a slight drop. The property markets in the whole country under went macro-control in late 2007, whilst the Huafa Century City recorded a daily sales volume of RMB1.28 billion.

Lvyang Villa was recently launched for sale. Originally priced between RMB30,000 and RMB40,000 per m2. The minimum now stands at RMB32,800 per m2 to accommodate the market, which covers a decoration fee of RMB6,000 per m2, oriented to attract Macau buyers. After completion of the Bridge, driving from Hong Kong to Zhuhai will only take 20 minutes, which will give another incentive to Hongkongers to become new buyers and investors.